Govt moots single exam for MBBS, PG courses

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 8

Two years after the Supreme Court quashed the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) notification on common entrance test for MBBS and PG admissions across India’s government and private medical and dental colleges, the government has revived the proposal and hopes to make it a reality soon.

Health Ministry under JP Nadda has mooted amendments to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 to give the MCI the power to hold a single national medical entrance examination for all colleges. The IMC (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was referred to the MCI which, in its general body meeting on October 1, approved the changes.

A senior Health Ministry official told The Tribune today: “The MCI is on board. We have through proposed amendments to the IMC Act sought to remove the legal anomalies that had in 2013 led to the rejection of the single exam proposal. The Supreme Court had then ruled that the MCI didn’t have legal powers to hold a unified exam. Our amendments will give the MCI those powers.”

The government’s decision to revive the single exam proposal for government and medical colleges stems from mass evidence of overcharging, malpractices and dilution of quality of academic instruction in many private colleges. With the MCI approving IMC Amendment Bill, the Ministry will now put the law in public domain for suggestions of stakeholders.

“After that, we will conduct national consultations before taking the proposal to the Cabinet and then Parliament. We see a real chance of a unified exam becoming a reality soon,” said a top official.